Draft-gear for railway-cars.



101839,203. l PATENTBb-DBG/zs, T906] f T G. P. RITTER.

, DRAFT GEARTOR RAILWAYv GARS.

PPLIOATIONIILBD 0T.11. 190,2.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

rvffdll lll l i `.RATRNTRD DRC. 25, 1906.

G. P; RITTER.4

- DRAFT GEAR -ROR'RAILWAY GARS.

APPLIUATION FILED 0QT.11. 1902.

, z'sHRRTs-SHBRT 2.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE.

ern-BERTV P. lRITTER, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. l'

DRAFT-'GEAR' Fon RAILWAY-CARS.

` Specicatonof Letters Patent.

Patented pee. 25, 190e.

Application-filed October 11,1902. Serial No. 126,921.

To dll whom tm/wy concern:

VBe it. known that I, GILBERT P. RITTER, af citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented 'certain new and useful Im-- proveinents in Draft-Gear for Railway-Cars and I hereby declare the following to'bea full, clear, and exact descri tion of the same,

reference being had .to t e accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a horizontal central section of a draft-gear embodying my invention, the cheek-plates which form the housing guides and stops being-in elevation. Fig; 2 is a ver-4 My Invention relates to that classof draft-v vgear for railway-cars in which the normal ultimate capacity .of the spring resistance is increased by a frictional resistance, which also decreases the violence 'of the reaction of the spring when the load thereon is released, 'and these results I accomplish in such Inanner that the device is rendered light, compact, and of few parts, easily assembled and readily repaired. l

To this end the main feature of .my invention embraces the combination, in a draftgear, of a spring, a follower comprised of friction elements having friction-faces and contacting inclined faces, the parts being im- Inovably seated one on another, and a friction element or elements which ccact with the first-named fricti on elements and are Inovable with relation thereto.

There are other (minor) features of invention, all as will hereinafter more fully appear, and be )articularly pointed out in tho claims.

II will nowproceed to describe'ihy invention Inore'fully, so that others skilled in the art vto which it appcrtains may apply. the same.

In the drawings, A is a draw-bar yor (sa 'le'r-shank having secured thereto, b y the li'i'; ets o1` bolts ylLVL l and 'filling-pieces lll-1b, the yoke B. l

C is a casing or housing, preferably rectan- I if desired, is

llines,) which travel in cheeks or guides G, and t e ribs 4 4 also gular in cross-section, in the present instance shown as open at' the end nearest the cou ler lA but the'same may be open at both en s, if desired, a follower being substituted to -perform the function of the rear end lc thereof.

The forward portion-of the casing is inclosed on all sides, while the rear portion is or may be composed merely of the walls 2c, thus lightening the housing.

The interior of one end of the housin C, and either integral therewith or detacha le, rovided with friction faces or elements 3C, isposed parallel to the line of motion of the coupler, while the exterior of said housing is provided vwith one or more longitudinal ribs 4c 4 and 5C 5, (see dotted rooves g inv the serve, by abutting against either the -one or the other set ofstops lg 1g and 2g 2g of the cheek-plates G, to limit the longitudinal movement of the casing or housin C.

D and E are substantially simi ar friction elements, together forming a spring abutment vand friction-follower, shown as cored for sake of lightness, the 'former bearing lupon the spring and the latter upon the coupler when the device is in its normal position. (See Fig. 1.) AEach of the friction elements D and E has a friction-faceparallel to its line of motion and may be also provided with an extension d and c, respectively, in the same plane therewith and extending inwardly beyond the end of the spring F when it is de; sired to increase the friotional area, and the said friction-'face and extension contact a corresponding fiictioii.-f'ace 3cv on theinterior of ythe housing C; but the extensions d and e may be omitted', if desired, and the members D 'and E made counterparts. 2d and 2C are correspon(lingly-inclinedfaces of the friction blocks or elements D and E, respectively,

which-by contacting each other cause an outward thrust or pressure transverse tothe line of motion of 'said blocks D and E in a plane perpendicular to the friction-faces of the casing C'when the spring F is com ressed, while at Athe Sametime being seate at rest uponeach other. i

F is a spring or iesilientinediuin, one end of Iwh'ich is seated upon the friction element D and the other end of which bears upon the ond l'c of theo-:Ising C or its e uivalent.

G G are cheeleplates provi ed with guideways g (soc Fig. 2) and the stops 1B 1g and IOC 2g 2g, the latter preferably detachable, which serve to limit the travel of the casing or hous ing C, and the said cheek-plates G arealso the means of attaching the device to the carframing by bolts or otherwise. y

In the modification shown in Fig. 6 of the .drawings a set of the elements D and E are employed at each end of the casing, which is stationary and the ends of which, y g and g2 g2, serve as stops to limit the movement of Ithe respective sets of elements D and E.

The several parts of the device may be assembled by first inserting the spring l? in the casing C, next inserting the friction elements D .and E, after which the yoke B is passed aroundthe casing C and riveted or bolted to the coupler-shank A, which bears against the end of the friction element E. The cheekplat'es G G, with stops 1g 1g removed, having een securedto the car-framing, the casing C, containing the operative parts of the mechanism, is then inserted in the guideways g g, after which the stops lg lg are secured in place, thus completing the device. The construction bein@ substantially such as herein pointed out, t e operation of the device will be asfollows: The device being in .its normal or nnstrained position, as shown n Fig. l,v abutting movement of the coupler (see Fig.. 4) will cause the rear end of the coupler-shank to force the friction elements E and D rearwardly, the casing C being held against retreat by the stops 2g 2@ o f the cheek-plates G G, thus compressing the spring F, and since the friction elements D and E are incapable of motion transverse to their line of travel on account of their contact with the walls of the casing or housing C a frictionalresistance is developed between the Walls of said casing and the elements D and E as the said'parts move or travel relatively to each other, and by reason of the in-` clined contactingA faces of the friction elements D and E the frictional resistance is proportional to the compression of the spring pon cessation of the bulling strain. the operative partsreturn to theirnormal positions in the same manner as they were dis placed. The device having returned to its normal position, a pulling movement of the coupler (see Fig. 3) causes the yoke B to advance the casing C, (to the right, Fig. 1.,) while the friction elements D' and E are prevented from retreat by the stops 1g 1g, which bear u on the friction element E the. )riniT i l n l? being compressed and friction created between the friction elements E and l.) and the coacting friction element or casing C, as before explained for the bufling operation.

' It may be observed that since-the coinpression of the spring is induced by the force applied to the draw-bar acting through the wedges D and E and since one Wedge can transmit pressure to the other only in a direction which makes the angle of friction with Ithe normal drawn to their contacting faces,

.having its interior walls parallel, said fore, the force transmitted from one wedge to l the other increases the pressure between the wedges and casing pro]iortioi'iately increases and the frictional resistance to the movement ofthe draw-bar is thereby correspondingly increased;

The principle of operation of the iiiodilicavtion shown in Fig. 6 is similar to that of the construction shown in the priiicipiil figures of the drawings. The casing is statioi'iaiy, and a second set of friction elements D and E is substituted to }'ierform the follower function of the end l of the casing C, one set of elcF ments l) and E operating in draft and the other iii bulling, their travel being liinitcd by the stops Q g. and g2 g2, which in this construction may forni part of' the casing.

Having thus described my invention, what l claim, and desire tosecure h v Letters Patent, is

1. In a friction drinitfeear, the combination with a coacting friction eli'finent, of a plural .ity of friction elements relatively movable with respect thereto and having friction faces parallel to the f`i.ictii.nifii.ces of the coactin'g friction element and contacting inclined faces iinniovably seated one on another, and means for inducing relative movem'ent ind pressure between tho relatively movable frictionv elements, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. In a friction draft-gear, the combination with a relatively vmovable coacting friction element, of a plurality of coacting friction elements having inclined ifoifitacting faces ini movably seated one on another, and means for inducing relative inoveiiient and pressure between the relativel)v movable friction elements, substantially as and for the. purpose speci lied.

3. ln a friction draft-gear, the combination with a relatively movable coact'ing friction element, of a plurality of eoacting friction elenients having inclined contacting faces iiiiniovably seated one on another, a spring, and means for compressing sa id spring, .substantiiillg as and for the purposes specified.

4. .l n a friction draft-gear, the com Jiiiation with suitable cheek-plates having stops or abutn'ients, of a casing closed at one end :ind casing movable between the abulinenis of the (.ilieek-plates, :i spring within the casing, and a follower comprised of i`iiciion elei'nciils having correspondiiigly-inclined contacting faces and friction-faces in contact with the interior wall of the casing, substantially :is and for thev purposes speeilie l.

5. ln a friction draft-gear, the combination IOO IOS

IIO

'- with a movable casing having friction-faces e y 6. In afriction draft-gear, the combination with a spring, of a casing provided with .plane friction-faces disposed parallel to the line of motion of the coupler, a spring-seatv having a friction-face enga ing lower having a casing, said spring-seat and follower each r5 the casing, land a folictlon-face engaging the having' contacting faces inclined with respect to the friction-faces of the casing to cause their resilient thrusts u on said casing to lie in a plane normal to the Friction-faces of the latter when the mechanism is subjected to strain substantially as and for the purposes specified. l

7. In a friction draft-gear, the combination immovably lseate lie in a plane normal to with a spring, of a casing provided with plane friction-faces disposed parallel to the line of motion of the coupler, a spring-seat having a friction-face enga Iing the casing, a follower upon at all timesduring the operation of the mechanism and having a Jriction-face engagingl the casing, the contacting faces of said spring- 'seat and follower being inclined with respect the said'spring-seat j to the-frictionfaces ofthe casing to cause their resultant thrusts u on said casing to t ye'friction-iaces of the latter when the mechanism is subjected to strain, substantially as and for thepurposes speciied.

In testimony whereor` I'affix my si nature, in presence of two witnesses7 this llt 4day of October, 1902. i GILBERT P. RITTER.

' Witnesses: l

HUGH M. STERLING, WM.4 E. Dran. 

